Apparatus for measuring distance



ug. 14A, 1928.

H. G. DORSEY APPARATU FOR MEASURING DISTANCE Filed Nov.12, 1925 4. Sheets-Sheet 1 "Y WWW ATTORNEY Aug. 14, lZ

H. G. DORSEY APPARATUS FOR MEASURING DISTANCE Filed Nov. 12,. A1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 T 77 12 78 7s M Ff@ 4 Aug. 14, i928. 1,680,507l

H. G. DORSEY APPARATUS FOR MEASURING DIS'IIANCE Filed Nom-12; 1925 4 sheets-sheet 3 s2 a7 4o 3s 3/ 3o el 5s @o i7 38 ez o 36 A 5s 54 f q 65 1; m '45 Y) 44, A r 47 52 42 a4 4l 45a' z3/"" e: a5 i l 33 48 #-7 58 5/7 5l L www A r Tom/EY Aug. 14, i928. www? H. G. DORSEY APPARATUS FOR MEASURING DISTANCE QIMNO'V. 12, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I VEN TOR.

Herer Grove orsey A TTORNE Y.

Patented Aug. 14, 1928. p

UNiTEn STATES PATENT ori-uca.

HERBERT GROVE DORSEY, F (1rII'.|OU(.`2].".|`STER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO SUBM- RINE SIGNAL CORPORATION,` OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION 0F DELAWARE.`

l The present invention relates to improvements in-appratus for determining dlstance and more particularly to improvements in apparatus as disclosed in the copendmg patent applicationsof Herbert Grove Dorsey,

Serial No. 682,243, filed December 22, 1923,'

and Robert Longfellow Williams, Serial N o. 686,922, filed January 17, 1924, and also 1n the joint application of the above mvenf tors filed of even date.

No claim is here made of the combination in one apparatus of the method and apparatus described in the individual applica-v tions. As there are numerous features included in the present apparatus no mention will be made of the particular objects in the present application but the new features should be plainly understood from the following description and drawin in which:

Figure 1 shows a view of t e apparatus Figure 7 shows a detail of the switch mechanism of 'Figure 5 on the line 7 7.

Figure 8 shows a wiring diagram for operating certain features of the present apparatus. Y

In determining distances or depths of water by acoustic methods-such as employed in the present application, itis found advantageous to use other methods for short depth and distances than for deeperdepth and distances. In combining properly the most advantageous methods in -oneapparatus, certain features have to be cared for particularly. For instance, in finding deep iepths in s'oundings upon a vesselthe slight error, introduced by change of the draft of y:he vessel and, therefore, the change of the listance'which the measuring apparatus is )elow the surface of the water, is a ve small fraction of the total depth and would not, therefore. ordinarily need to be corfected. For shallow depths however, this srror becomes important, since bein a con- ;tant amount, in proportion to t e total APPARATUS non MEASURING DISTANCE.'

Application mea November 12, 1925. serial No. 68,695.

depth it becomes a greater fraction as the total depth decreases.

Since in the present device the same mechanism rotates both shallow water and deep Water indicators, a means of correction must be provided which will correct the shallow water indicator independently of the deep water indicator, as will be seen later from the description and operation of the apparatus. j

The deep water indicator rotates at slower speed than the shallow water indicator and as will be seen in Lthe present design consequently the sound signal emitted for determining deep water depths is longer than4 that for shallow water. However, even this additional length of the acoustic note has not been found. long enough so that an additional mechanism' is used whereby an extra long signal is obtained. As it is desirable to accomplish the .changingfrom the ern- 4 meshing with the gear 2. A longitudi-v nally adjustable shaft 5 movable .in bear-| ings 6 and 7 carries a collar 8 fixed firmly to the said shaft 5. The collar 8 is integral with a forked piece 9, the two prongs, 10 and 11, of which rest easily in a groove 12 l(see Figure 2) of the piee carryin the shifting gears 13 and 14. These shifting gears are made of one piece of material or rigidly fastened together and are adjustable longitudinally upon the 'shaft 3 by means of a key (not shown) fitting into the slot 15. As has been stated above the shaft 5 is movable longitudinally in the bearing 6 and 7. Stops1 16 and 17 are provided to limit the motion of this shaft which may be either fixed or adjustable. Theend of the shaft 5 carries a slotted collar 18 throu h which is astud 19 which straddles a 'for 20 of the piece 21. The piece 21 is shown rather eol plainly in Figures 5 and 7. It is shaped somewhat like the sector of a circular disc and pivoted as shown at 30 in a bearing 31.

cam changing mechanism.

As shown in Figure 5 the knurled knob 32 operates through a bearing 36 to which the stationary part 37 of the switch is rigidly attached by means of the angle 38. The other end of the part 37 is rigidly supported by the angle 39 while the angle 40, also ,rigidly positioned, carries the bearing 31 in which the piece 21 is pivoted. The movable part 41 'of the switch has an angle at each end 42 and 43, the angle 42 being rigidly attached to the shaft 44 of the knurled knob 32 so that by -turning the knob 32, the knife blades 45n of the switch 34 would contact with thel spring forks on the right or left, depending whether rotation of the knob was clockwise or counterclockwise.

The` angle 43 carries a stud 45 which is attached in any suitablemanner to the angle 43. This stud extends through the piece 21 `in the slot 46 as shown both in Figures .2 and 7. As shown in Figure 5 the slot engages further the forked piece 47, bearing upon the prongs of the latter when operating the cam switching device about to be described.

The cam switching shaft 35 is pivoted in bearings 48 and 49 best shown in Figure 5 but also shown in Figure 1. Pivoted with this cam shaft, as an axis, is the piece 50 which consists of a hollow cylindrical piece 51 through which the shaft 35 passes, but not Alocked thereto, and a forked piece 52, the

cylindricalpiece and forked piece beingcast in one. The ends of the forked piece contain rollers 53 and 54 which engage in a groove 55 in the cam 61. As the piece 50 'is not rigidly secured to the shaft 35, ro-

tation of the shaft lwould not move the forked cams 53 and 54 if it were not for the spring 57. This spring is rigidly secured at one end to the shaft 35 by the locking piece 58 while the other end is bent around the neck of the piece 50. When, therefore,

` the shaft 35 is turned, the forked piece will follow on account of the spring 57 unlessl there is some resistance to prevent its niotion, as when the Ashoulder of the dog 59 and the roller 60 happen to be adjacent to each other. This happens rather rarely I but is a contingency which must be cared for else it may at times be impossible to Ashiftvthe cam disc 61 longitudinally upon the shaft 62. It is evident, of course, inl` order to provide a longer contact by means ofthe do 59 than ofthe dog 63 that the dog 59 wi l be raised at the ends above the `in making thisshift, the edge of the dog 59 strikes the roller 60, it will still be possible to' turn the knurled knob 32 completely. to;

perform the various functions of changing over the system, since the shaft 35 will turn its full angular rotation, tensioning the spring 57 which will have enough energy to force the dog 59 in line with the roller 60 when the dog has moved beyond its striking position.

The cam disc 61 fits loosely upon the shaft 62 and is rotatedv inthe following mannemy A A disc 64 is provided which is rigidly fixed to the shaft 62. This disc has a couple of studs 65 and 66 which pass through holes in the disc 61 and are suiiicient in length to care for the longitudinal shift of the cani disc 61.

As will be evidcnt from the above description, the knob 32 controls and-operates'the gears 13 and 14 which when moved to the left in Figure 2 give the shaft 62 a rapid motion and when moved'to the right a slow motion when the apparatus is in operation. The shaft 62 carries with it the disc 64 which is coupled through the studs 65 and 66 tothe cam disc 61. The shaft 62 also rotates the indicator disc 70 bearing both the shallow water indicator 71 and the deep water indicator 72. The indicating disc is composed of two parts, one a sector 73 which` is rigidly attached to the shaft 62 and the disc 74 which is adjustahly coupled to the sector 73 by means of the thumb screw 75 which passes through an arcuate slot 76 of the sector so that the-position of the disc relative to the sector and therefore to the dogs of the cam 61 may be adjustable vithin the angle necessary 'as will be seen ater.

. The sector 73 carries a smal] light 77 positioned behind a slit 78 in the sector, which is covered over with atranslucent white sheet of material, through which the light7 7 shines; When the shallow ywater indicator is used the light 77 may be put out eliminating from view the deep water inditor entirely. This is cared for by the switch 34. The disc 74 is cut away at 79 over the angular area through which disc and sector may move relatively to each other. 'In this way whatever position the disc 74 might assume,

shines 'when the indicator operates. The

I a5A leads and 81 of the indicator 71 are brought to the brushes 82 and 83 respectively and those of the light v72 to the brushes 84 and 83 by means of the leads 85 and 86. The

so that the figures may be more readily visible.

It will be noted, of course, that since the sector is fixed relative to the cam dogs, the draft adjustment is applicable only to the shallowV water indicator 71. The arrow in Figure 4 indicates the direct-ion in which the disc rotates. The dog 90, in Figure 4 which corresponds in position to the dogs 59 and 63 and diagrammatically stands for them, shows that the Contact 91 which controls the operation of the sound emitter through thev leads 92 and 93 is closed at relatively the same times with respect to the indicat0r'72 but at different times relatively to the i'ndicator 71 dependent upon the position of the sector 73.

In the relative positions shown in Figure 4, it is evident that the indicator 71 has just passed the zero position as shown by the 100 mark at the top of the inner scale yupon the dial face 94 when the draft correction is set for six` fathoms draft correction, which, of course, may correspond to six fathom-correction in draft or may be associated with a curve corresponding to some other spacing between the sound transmitter and the sound receiver. It may be noted at least that this correction is along the rightdirection, since when the sender and receiver are far down beneath the surface the time interval measurement is shorter than the actual depth so that if true depths were to be indicated it would be necessary to have the indicator already beyond -its zero mark when the signal is given. As a matter of fact there are a number of corrections to be cared for, as for instance, the initial lag in the sending circuit, that in the receiving circuit, and the correction for the spacing of the sender and receiver as regards increasing depths.

The initial lag of operation and receiving will tend to make the depths appear deeper than they really are, since the time interval between the sending and the receiving will be longer than the time taken for the sound to travel to the bottom and back. The distance between receivers with respect to depths to be measured'will also tend to make depths appear deeper. This last correction is cared for by the particular calibration of the scale for shallow water as is seen by the marking on the inner scale 95. It may be observed that this correction decreases as the depth increases, since for deep depthsv the distance between the sender and receiver is small when compared to the depth, and' the actual distance measured comes very close to being the actual depth since the path of travel of the sound is almost in a vertical direction. For depths calibrated upon the second scale 96 which commences at the. bottom of the dial at thevoutside, both the draft correction and the spacing correction of the sender and receiver are unnecessary since the error is approximately small compared to the depth. For proper measurement, there-I. fore, there is provided a means for correcting the inner scale and measurement as has been outlined above Without adjustment of the outer scale or depth associated with those measurements.

Although the inner scale is shown cali-f brated up to 100 which is 100 fathoms, it can be used for much deeper depths as well, provided the echo signal is suiiiciently strong to operate the indicator. As will be learned from the other copending applications mentioned above, the Vshallow water indicator is entirely automatic. The echo signal being received upon a reeeiver operates the indicator which in the present 'application is shown las av neon discharge tube 71. This indicator is constantly rotated by a motor (not shown) through the shaft 1, Which is geared to the shaft 62.

As shown in Figure 4 and in other figures, when the dog 59 or 63 or its diagrammatical equivalent of Figure 4 gets into the proper position the sound emitter 208 is vsounded by the generator 207. This nor' mally happens once' every revolution of the indicators so that during the revolution the incoming signal either Aoperates the automatic indicator 71 by being received by the receiver 202 and transmitted by means ofthe transformer circuit 203 to the indicating operating .means 201 such as described in the previously mentioned application of Herbert Grove Dorsey, Serial No. 682,243, which operating ymeans operates-through the circuit 20.9, the automatic indicator 71, or causes a response in the telephone 200 in such a manner that the operator may place the position of the indicator 72 if the deep depth method is used as described in the Williams application mentioned above. f

It may be remarked, however, that there is a possibility that the depth may be so deep when the shallow "water indicator is used that the signal willnot return before lthe next signal is beino` sent. If this condition is noted it is possi le to prevent'the occurrence of the following signal by means of the key 97 shown in Figure 5 which is pivoted on the bracket 98 at the point 99 and tion.

which possesses at its other end a hook engaging under the flange 100 of the knurled adjusting screw 101. This screw has at its other end the disc contact 103 which is opposed Vto the contact 104 which is pushed to the right in Figure 5 by the roller 60 when the dog 59 or 63 hits it. To make the operation of the electrodes 104 and 103 very rapid, spring 110 is used. Vhen electrode 104 is forced to the right, the spring 110 is tensioned so that -it will have a tendency to fly back to its normal position. The spring 111 tends to hold thecontact 103 in its proper position as well as toreturn it to such a position as soon as possible after the key 97 is released. To prevent operation of the sound emitter, the key 97 is pressed when the dog is about to force the contact 104 to the right. In this manner as many revolutions of the indicator can pass by as desired without emitting a signal.

In using this key with shallow depths, if one revolution has passed before the signal comes in, it will simply be necessary to add 100 to the reading which is obtained; if two revolutions, 200; and so forth. The same method is applicable to deep depths, except that in this 1000 is added for each revolu- The operation should be fairly obvious from the description above. If the shallow water indicator is to be used the light 72 is not illuminated in which ease no indicator will normally be visible to an observer looking at the dial. In Figures 1 and 2 the gears 14 and 13 are shifted to the left'so that gear 14 meshes with the small gear 105 so that the shaft 62 is driven at the higher speed. This shift is accomplished by the knob- 32 which rotates the arm'21 in a counter-clockwise direction shown in Figure 2. At the same time the stud 45 is moved to the right in a counter-clockwise'direction as shown in Figure 2 until the stud bears against the shoulder of the piece 47 (Figure 7) androtates the shaft clockwise as viewed from the end show n in Figure 7. At the same time the switch blades make the proper :contacts to change over theindicator, slow the speed of the motor while throwing in gears and make other changes which might be neces-' sary.

The circuit arrangement as shown in Figure 8 shows the |sounder 208 which is energized by the generator 207 upon the closing of the contacts 91. The button 97 corresponds to the button 97 of Figure 5 vand can be made to separate the contacts 91, thus preventing at the desired times the sounding of the sounder 208. .The-switch blade "L corresponding to the similarly numbered element in Figure 7 when made to contact with the Contact 300 lin Figure 8 by turning the knob 32 mentioned previously in the des'cription and shown in Figure 5 causes the deep light indicator to light up. At the same time a second switch blade 45a shown in Figure 8 contacts with the contact 301, thus cutting out of the circuit the resistance 302 and allowing the motor 303 for -driving the indicator to come to its proper speed. It will be noted that the resistance 302'is in circuit only when the blade 45a is in a neutral position, and this has the effect of slowing down the motor 303 only from shifting from one set of contacts to the other. The contactv 304, when connected with the switch blade 45a, connects the shallow water indicator in the circuit. The corresponding operation with the right switch blade 45L in connecting with the contact 305 again cuts out the resistance 302 in changing from deep to shallow water measurements. A center switch blade 45ar when tipped up at the` left throws the telephones 200 in circuit- A switch 306 is provided whereby even when one indicator is used the other may also be used. This is useful in deep depths when the returning echo is of sufficient intensity to operate the shallow water indicator. The receiver 202 is connectedv to the indicating operating means 201 similarly as is shown in Figure 4. The phones 200 which are used with the deep water indicator are also shown connected to the receiver 202 throu h -201. As is evident from Figure 8, by tilting the switch blades 4 5:l lto one side or the other side, the proper changes in the system are `made to change from sounding for shallow water to sounding for deep water, or vice versa.

If deep depths are desired the knob [32 is turned in the opposite direction which meshes the gear 13 'with the gear 106 thereby causing the disc, indicator, and cam to rotate at the slower speed and also presents the longer contact dog 59 to the' roller 60 through the proper rotation of the shaft 35.

For the deeper depths, therefore, not only is additional length given to ,the signal on account of the slower speed of rotation of the cam disc but also a longer contact dog is provided.

. In thefsystem described above almost any depth can be measured. Inl some cases the depth without changing to the deeper ducer, a sound receiver,.circular scales, two vlsual indicators carried' by .sa1d rotatlng member` and moving in cooperation with the automatic method designed to be used for v scales, means whereby rotation of the rotating member causes periodic operation of the sound producer at a denite position of the indicators with reference to the, scales, one of said indicators for deep sounding, the other of said lindicators capable o producing a line of light on the scale in response to the operation of the sound receiver for shallow sounding, an audible indicating means operative in response to the operation of the sound receiver'to cooperate with the deep sounding indicator' and means to change the position of one of said indicators with reference to the scales whereby the sound signal will be produced when said indicator is in a different position.

2. A depth indicator including a rotating member; means for driving the same at a constant and known speed, a sound producer, a sound receiver, circular scales, two visual indicators carried by said rotating member and moving in cooperation with the scales, means whereby rotation of the rotating ymember causes periodic operation of the sound producer at a definite position of the indicators with reference to the scales, one of said indicators for deep sounding, the other of said indicators capable of producing a line of light on the scale in responseY to the operation of.l the sound receiver for shallow sounding, an audible indicating means operative inresponse to the operation of the sound receiver to cooperate with the deep sounding indicator and means to adjust the position o the shallow water indicator with respectto its position on the scale at the time when the sound signal is produced.

3. A depth indicator including a rotating member, means for driving the same at a constant and known speed, a sound -producer, a sound receiver, circular scales, two visual indicators carried by said rotating member and moving in cooperation with the scales, means whereby rotation of the rotating member causes periodic operation of the sound producer at a definite position of the y indicators with reference to the scales, one

of said indicators for deep sounding, the other of said indicators capable of producing a line lof light on the scale in response to the-operation of the sound receiver for shallow sounding, an `audible indicating means operative in response to the operation of the sound receiverto cooperate with the deep sounding indicator and means for maintaining said deep water indicator continuously illuminated and means to adjust the position of the shallow `water indicator withrespect'to its position on the scale at the time when the sound signal is produced.

.4. Adepth indicator including a rotating member, means for drivin the same at a constant and known speed, a sound producer, a sound receiver, circular scales, two

vother of said indicators capable of producing a line of light on the scale in response to the operation of the sound receiver for shallow sounding, and an audible indicating means operative` in response to the operation of the sound receiver to cooperate with the deep sounding indicator, said rotating member including a sector carrying the deep Water indicatorand fixed with reference to the means for producing the periodic operation of the sound producer, a disc having the same axis as said sector and adjustable means to lock said disc with said sector in a desired position.

5. A depth indicator including a rotating member, means for driving the same at a constant and known speed, a sound producer, a sound receiver, circular scales, two visual indicators carried by said rotating member and moving in cooperation with the scales, means whereby rotation of the rotating member causes periodic operation of the sound producer at a definite position of the indicators with reference to the scales, one

y of said indicators for deep sounding, the A other of said indicators capable of producing a line of light on the scale in response to the operatlon of the sound receiver for shalllow sounding, and an audible indicating pensating the shallow water indicator for the distance between the sender and receive to give directly correct depths.

6. A depth indicator including a rotating member, means lfor driving the same at a constant and known speed, a sound producer, a sound receiver, circular scales, two visual indicators carried by said rotating member and moving in cooperation with the scales, means whereby rotation of the rotating member causes periodic operation of the sound producer at a definite position 'of the indicators with reference to the scales, one of said indicators for deep sounding, the other of said indicators capableof producing a line of light on the scale in response to the operation ofthe sound receiver for shallow sounding, and an audible indicating means opera-tive in response to the operation of the sound receiverI to cooperatewith 'the deep sounding indicator, said means for causing periodic operation/.lof the. sound producer including a cam having a plurality of rises mounted side by side on the periphery of said cam, a rollerpositioned approxi mately in the plane of said cam, means for shifting slightly said cam ina plane parallel to 1ts surface whereby the desired rise may be made to operate said roller, and also means operated by the movement of said rollerto cause the emission of the sound.

7. A depth indicator-including aI rotating member, means for. driving the same at a constant and known speed, a sound producer, a sound receiver, circular scales, two visual indicators carried by said rotating member and moving in cooperation with the scales, means whereby rotation of the rotating member causes periodic operation of the sound producer at a. definite position of the indicators with reference to the scales, ,one of said indicators for deep sounding, the other of said indicators capable of producing a line of light on the scale in response to the opera-tion of the sound receiver for shallow sounding, an audible indicating means operative in response to the operation oi the sound receiver to cooperate with the deep sounding indicator and means manu.

ally operated to omit the operation of the means for causing the periodic operation of the sound producer.

8. A depth' indicator including a rotating member, means for drivin@r the sameat a constant. and known spee a sound produccr, a sound receiver, circular scales, two visual indicators carried by said rotating member and moving in cooperation with the scales, means whereby rotation of the rotat ing member ,causes periodic operation of the sound producer at a definite position of the indicators with reference to the scales, one of said indicators for deep sounding, the other of. said indicators capable of producing a line of light on the scale in response to the operation of the sound receiver for shallow sounding, and an audible indicating means operative in response to the operation of the sound receiver to cooperate with the deep sounding indicator, said means for caus ing periodic operation of the sound producerA including a rotating cam, two opposed contacts, a spring tensioned rod upon which one of said contacts is mounted, means through which said cam acts to cause a contact to be made between said contacts, and mea-ns Afor separating said contacts such a distance that no Contact will be made.

In testimony whereof I aiX my signature.

HERBERT GROVE DORSEY. 

